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A Large heat lift 40 to 80K Pulse Tube Cooler (LPTC) has been designed, manufactured and tested in partnership between AL/DTA, CEA/SBT and THALES Cryogenics BV. The Engineering Model specification of 2.3 W cooling power at 50 K for 10°C rejection temperature and maximum 160 watts electrical input power has been reached. The as built model weighs 5.13 kg. The thermal and mechanical performances are presented and discussed. This work is funded by the European Space Agency (ESA/ESTEC Contract N°18433/04/NL/AR) in the frame of future Earth Observation instruments development.

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In order to cover new needs of large stroke beyond +/-2° for Free-space optical communication (FSO), inter-satellite links in constellations, as well as for Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC), CEDRAT TECHNOLOGIES (CTEC) has developed a compact, low-power, high-stroke and high-bandwidth, Fast Steering Mirrors called M-FSM. The proposed M-FSM design is based on proprietary MICA™ flexure bearing magnetic actuators technology, taking heritage from other MICA™ Space application domains, such as long-life space cryogenic refrigerators. The M-FSM includes a dedicated 30mm silicon carbide (SIC) mirror developed by CTEC, based on PAM30 Flight Model knowhow heritage, currently under manufacturing for NASA PYSCHE Deep Space Optical Communication (DSOC) spacecraft.

Air Liquide is working with the CNES and Steel électronique in 2013 to design, manufacture and test a Miniature Pulse Tube Cooler (MPTC) to cool infrared detectors for micro-satellite missions. The cooler will be particularly adapted to the needs of the CNES MICROCARB mission to study atmospheric Carbon Dioxide which presents absorption lines in the thermal near infrared, at 1.6 ȝm and 2.0 ȝm.The required cooler temperature is from 150 to 200K with cooling power between 1 and 3 watts. The overall electrical power budget including electronics is less than 20W with a 288-300K rejection temperature. Particular attention is therefore paid to optimizing overall system efficiency. The active micro vibration reduction system and thermal control systems already developed for the Air Liquide Large Pulse Tube Cooler (LPTC) are currently being implemented into a new high efficiency electronic architecture. The presented work concerns the new cold finger and electronic design. The cooler uses the compressor already developed for the 80K Miniature Pulse Tube Cryocooler. This Pulse Tube Cooler addresses the requirements of space missions where extended continuous operating life time (>5 years), low mass and low micro vibration levels are critical.